July 2, 2008 - Tougher standards and stricter accounting have exposed an even greater green divide among electronics manufacturers, according to Greenpeace's latest report on environmental performance in the sector.

For the eighth edition of Greenpeace's Guide to Greener Electronics, the environmental watchdog fine-tuned its scoring method, adding a new measure for greenhouse gas emissions during product manufacture and upping expectations for performance in toxics reduction and product takeback. The result? A plummeting overall score for each of the 18 electronics manufacturers evaluated in the report.

The new criteria exposed an even wider disparity between leaders and laggards. Previous strong performers Sony and Sony Ericcson topped the latest rankings, while Nintendo - the first company ever to score straight zeros on the report - continued to bring up the rear.

In general, companies scored well on energy efficiency as more products now either meet or exceed Energy Star standards. Yet the Greenpeace report notes that most companies continue to take a limited view of products' energy performance, overlooking opportunities to improve the efficiency of manufacturing processes as well.

“Electronics giants pay attention to environmental performance on certain issues while ignoring others that are just as important,” says Casey Harrell, a campaigner for Greenpeace. “Philips, for example, scores well on chemicals and energy criteria but earns a zero on e-waste since it has no global take-back policies." (Greenpeace has pressured Philips on its recycling policies in the past.)

Toxic materials in Apple's iPhone - a bone of contention last year - hurt the electronics giant's scores this time around. "Apple missed a big chance to advance its score by not improving the environmental performance of the new version of the iPhone," Greenpeace notes on its website.

Find the complete rankings here. Download the full report here (PDF).